Judge throws out Archdiocese suit over mandate

ST. LOUIS -- A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the Archdiocese of St. Louis and Catholic Charities over the government's health insurance mandate to fund contraception, calling the suit premature.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that U.S. District Judge John Ross in St. Louis dismissed the suit Tuesday. Ross cited the government's intent to make changes in the law, and he cited the fact that religious and not-for-profit groups were given until August to comply.

The suit filed in May claimed the mandate violated religious liberties. But Ross wrote that the challenged regulation "is not sufficiently final for review."

Dozens of similar lawsuits have been filed around the nation.